S.I. No. 569/2012 - Social Welfare (Consolidated Contributions and Insurability) (Amendment) (No. 3) (Modifications of Insurance) Regulations 2012.

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 1st January, 2013.

I, JOAN BURTON, Minister for Social Protection in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 4 (amended by section 96 of the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act 2011 (No. 10 of 2011)) of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 (No. 26 of 2005), and by section 14 of that Act, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, given after consultation with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, hereby make the following Regulations:

Citation and construction.

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Social Welfare (Consolidated Contributions and Insurability) (Amendment) (No. 3) (Modifications of Insurance) Regulations 2012.

(2) These Regulations and the Social Welfare (Consolidated Contributions and Insurability) Regulations 1996 to 2012 shall be construed together as one and may be cited together as the Social Welfare (Consolidated Contributions and Insurability) Regulations 1996 to 2012.

Commencement.

2. These Regulations come into operation on 1 January 2013.

Interpretation.

3. In these Regulations—

“Principal Regulations” means the Social Welfare (Consolidated Contributions and Insurability) Regulations 1996 ( S.I. No. 312 of 1996 );

“Regulations of 2010” means the Social Welfare (Consolidated Contributions and Insurability) (Amendment) Regulations 2010 ( S.I. No. 684 of 2010 ).

Modifications of insurance — amendments.

4. The Principal Regulations are amended—

(a) in article 81(2)(a)(i) (amended by article 5 of the Regulations of 2010) by substituting the following clause for clause (I):

“(I) 0.9per cent of the amount of reckonable earnings up to €1,443, and”,

(b) in article 82(2)(a)(i) (amended by article 5 of the Regulations of 2010) by substituting the following clause for clause (I):

“(I) 0.9per cent of the amount of reckonable earnings up to €1,443, and”,

(c) in article 83(2)(a)(i) (amended by article 5 of the Regulations of 2010) by substituting the following clause for clause (I):

“(I) 0.9per cent of the amount of reckonable earnings up to €1,443, and”,

(d) in article 86(2)(a) (amended by article 4 of the Social Welfare (Consolidated Contributions and Insurability) (Amendment) (No. 5) (Euro) Regulations 2001 ( S.I. No. 613 of 2001 )) by substituting the following subparagraph for subparagraph (i):

“(i) a contribution by the employed contributor at the rate of 3.33 per cent of reckonable earnings in that week in respect of each employment (or the equivalent thereof in the case of an employed contributor remunerated otherwise than on a weekly basis), and”,

and

(e) in article 87(2)(a)(i) (amended by article 5 of the Regulations of 2010) by substituting the following clause for clause (I):

“(I) 3.9per cent of the amount of reckonable earnings up to €1,443, and”.

The Minister for Finance, following consultation with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, consents to the foregoing Regulations.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

24 December 2012.

MICHAEL NOONAN,

Minister for Finance.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

24 December 2012.

JOAN BURTON,

Minister for Social Protection.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

The Social Welfare Act 2012 provides for the abolition of the weekly PRSI-free allowance of €127 in the case of employed contributors who are fully insured, e.g. PRSI Class A, E and H contributors. These Regulations provide for the consequential abolition of the weekly PRSI-free allowance of €26 in the case of employed contributors who are paying PRSI at the modified rates of contribution, e.g. PRSI Class B, C and D contributors.